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Date: 3rd Sunday after Epiphany
Text: Mark 1:14-20
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Welcome to the teaching ministry of Kungsvinger Lutheran Church. Kungsvinger is a beacon for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and is located on the plains of northwestern Minnesota. We proclaim Christ and Him crucified for our sins and salvation by grace through faith.
Alone.
And now, here's a message from Pastor Chris Roseberg.
The Holy Gospel according to St. Mark, the first chapter. After John the Baptist was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the Gospel of God and saying, the time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the Gospel.
Passing along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, follow me and I will make you to become fishers of men.
And immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in the boat mending the nets. And immediately he called them and they left their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.
This is the Gospel of the Lord. In the name of Jesus, Amen. All right, here are these words of Jonah, yet 40 days and none of us shall be overthrown. Oh, those are ominous words. These are words of repentance.
And I would note, as a little bit of a side, I don't know if you've been paying attention that there were a bunch of people who claim to be prophets today who prophesied that Trump would win the election and they're still doubling and tripling down and basically saying that he's going to be president this year somehow.
That's crazy stuff. And when confronted and told that this is not what God has said, that they are false prophets, they say that Jonah was a false prophet because Nineveh was not overthrown. And yet scripture is very clear in the prophet Jeremiah.
God has said very specifically that if he has somebody prophesied judgment and destruction and those people turn from their sin, that he will relent of the disaster. And so that's exactly what happened with Jonah.
Jonah prophesied yet 40 days and Nineveh would be overthrown. And what did the Ninevites do? They said, God, you're right, we're wrong. And they called on God to have mercy on them. What a great thing for them to do.
Now I would note this, that if you know the story of Jonah, Jonah is like one of the worst prophets ever. When he hears the voice of God, there's no doubt that he's heard the voice of God. What does he do?
Well, God says, I want you to go to Ninevite and prophesy and preach against them. And Jonah says, no way, Jose. And he heads off to some other place, Tarshish. And we all know the story, the big fish story as it goes.
What a terrible prophet this guy is. But what's the reason why Jonah went the opposite way? Was it because, well, what is the reason? Well, scripture is actually very clear in chapter four that the reason why Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh is because he knew God was merciful.
He knew that God was kind. He knew that God would forgive him. And Jonah didn't want those lousy, good-for-nothing, war criminal Ninevites to be forgiven. Think of it this way. Think of the people that you like the least on the planet.
And that's kind of the scary thing about our existence here. There always seems to be some group, that group that we don't like. And so maybe it's that party, that political party that you don't vote for.
We don't like them and I don't want them to be forgiven. Or maybe it's some war criminals from history's past and things like this. But I would note that this is a very, very, very scary, frightening, myopic way to look at repentance.
Repentance being for them, but not for me. Because if you think about it, look at your own life. Even look at the confession that you gave at the beginning of the service, confessing that you were by nature sinful and unclean.
You know, are you any better than the Ninevites? No, neither am I. And so you'll note that Jonah, the reason he heads the opposite direction is because he doesn't want them forgiven. But have you considered the scandal that exists this morning?
That here is Pastor Roseborough in the pulpit, preaching the gospel of God, and it's an absolute scandal that God has forgiven me. But if you're honest with yourself, it is also a scandal that God has forgiven you.
And so we'll note that God, let's just say, disciplines Jonah quite severely. But in disciplining him, he also graces him. In disciplining him, God caused him to spend three days in the belly of a large fish in the Mediterranean, cooling his heels, if you would.
But as awful of an experience as that had to have been, Christ uses that as a sign, as a type and shadow of his very death and resurrection. And so we'll note that in our gospel text today, Christ kind of picks up where Jonah leaves off.
There's this wonderful unbroken chain in the Old Testament all the way coming into the New, of people who are preachers and teachers of repentance. And Jesus is no difference. In fact, Christ in our gospel text, it says that after John the Baptist had been arrested, John had finished his course.
This is the one prophesied by Isaiah and Malachi, the one who would prepare the way of the Lord. We heard his preaching during Advent, and now that he has finished his course, Christ now appears on the scene and he says, the time is fulfilled.
The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the good news, in the good news of the gospel. Jesus was a repentance teacher. I would note there seems to be a lot of people nowadays who are pastors who are a little shy when it comes to the concept of preaching repentance.
I remember when Joel Osteen first came on the scene, and there were people in the media who were noting that his preaching was a lot different than the normal way that Christians have preached in the past, because he never really mentions sin and the need to repent.
And so some reporter actually spoke to him one time and said, why is it that your messages are so different? And you can almost hear him kind of in that southern drawl that he has, well, I feel like the Lord's called me to be very positive.
And my question for Joel Osteen is, how is it that you think that you are somehow more positive than Christ? Because Christ was a repentance preacher. And repentance as a message gets a bad rap, but in reality it's a great rap.
It's something that is necessary because we, all of us, are steeped in sin and rebellion against God, and the preaching of repentance is God's call for us not to be judged, but to be forgiven. And so I would note that today, since we began in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and Christ has said that where two or more are gathered in His name, even gathered on the internet, that Christ is present.
And so the kingdom of God has drawn near to us, has drawn near to you, and we hear now the message of Jesus to repent and believe in the gospel. And don't think for a second that you can sit there and say, well, I repented four years.
Ago.
Repentance is not like a COVID vaccination. It's not like that at all. Repentance is one of these things that is a daily life of a Christian. Christ is the one who teaches us to pray every day, forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And you're going to note this then, that Christ picking up where Jonah left off, that Christ is nothing like Jonah. Not at all. In fact, Jesus, well, rather than head the opposite direction, when God the Father approached Him and said, Son, I would like you to go to earth, to empty yourself, be found in the form of a servant, be born of the Virgin Mary, and go and bleed and die for the sins of the world so that they can be reconciled to me.
Jesus, unlike Jonah, didn't say, I think I'm going to head somewhere else. Jesus gladly, willingly, for the joy set before Him, He went to the cross so that we can be.
Forgiven.
And you'll note here that at the beginning of Jesus's ministry, He says repent and believe in the gospel. I would note that some people like to somehow think that the gospel is different than the gospel that Paul wrote down for us in 1 Corinthians 15.
The gospel that he says he received directly from Jesus. And that gospel states very clearly that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scripture and that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scripture.
And so people will sit there and say, well, Christ hasn't died yet, so the gospel He preached has to be different than that one. And to which I would say, au contraire, have you not read your Old Testament?
The gospel that the apostles preached is the same gospel that's revealed in the Old Testament in such wonderful passages like Isaiah 53. He was pierced for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement, the punishment that brought us peace with God was upon Jesus. And that being the case, you'll note that Christ is really able to go back into the Old Testament itself. The gospel is there and He can preach the gospel from the Old Testament prophets as having not yet been fulfilled, but knowing that He has already set His face like flint to go to the cross so that we can be forgiven and reconciled.
And that's the thing. Jesus is not scandalized by the mercy of God. He gladly brings it to us. And so Christ now wants us all to hear this good news of what He has done for us in taking our sins upon Himself, bleeding and dying, and calling us out of darkness into His light.
And so we see that Christ, already at the beginning of His ministry, begins to take steps to train disciples who would then make disciples. And they, in turn, all of them, through each successive generation, would become fishers of men.
Here's what it says. Passing along the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting Aned into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, Follow me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.
He did the same thing with the sons of Zebedee. And you sit there and go, hmm, fishermen becoming fishers of men. It's an interesting idea, but it's going to take three years for Jesus to train these.
Men.
And so Jesus, even at the beginning of His ministry, begins to invest in these disciples and to teach and to train them how to do what He is doing, calling sinners to repent and discipling them in the Word of God.
And the disciples, after Christ's death, resurrection, and ascension, they immediately got to work in doing that, preaching repentance and the forgiveness of sins in Jesus' name. And as Christ has commanded the church, making disciples of all nations.
And so each following generation, then, disciples are made who make disciples who make disciples. And those disciples, like you and like me, are also now joining with Jesus, joining with Jonah, joining with the prophets of old, proclaiming to people to repent of their sins and to be forgiven by the rich grace and mercy of God, which covers all of our sins and reconciles us to God.
Because as it says in Scripture, it is not God's will that any should perish, including you and including me. And so you'll note that Christ, rather than run the opposite way, not only does He run right to the task that the Father has given Him, He then takes steps to ensure that that work continues to this day, because, like I said, rather than be scandalized by the grace of God, He is instead all too eager to make sure that we all hear about it.
And that being the case, I think our epistle text is a little bit helpful for us. Now, you're going to sit here and say, well, maybe only pastors are the ones who are qualified to share the good news of what Christ has done.
And I would say that is not true. Each and every one of us have the privilege of telling others of the mercy and the grace of Jesus and the reconciliation that we have because of what He has done for us.
And so that being the case, it's easy for us to somehow say, well, that's just the pastor's job or, even worse, to say something to the effect of, well, I'm too busy with things here right now to do that.
I've got bills to pay. I've got house chores and honey-do lists to do, and I've got to make sure that I'm studying for this exam and all this kind of stuff. And all those things are good. But Scripture teaches us that we must always, as Christians, keep an eye on the fact that the world in its present form is passing away.
It is always passing away. In fact, I would note this, that there's many different ways in which the present form of this world passes away. I remember growing up in the 70s and in the 80s, and I can tell you with absolute certainty that that world doesn't exist anymore.
It only exists in the memories of those who lived through it. And if you think about it, this past week, we had, well, our present form of our government change from one administration to another. And so the world that we lived in in 2020 has already passed away.
And a new world has emerged with the rise of the new year and also the inauguration of a different president. And given time, this present form of the world will also pass away. But also I would remind you of this, that each and every one of us, we are passing away.
That's just the fact of life. I keep telling you guys, and I will reemphasize it over and over again. It was yesterday that I was 18 years old, and I had a 29-inch waist with six-pack abs, had a swimmer's body, and you're sitting there going, well, what happened?
I don't know.
It was terrible. But it happened so quickly, right? But the thing is, is that in a twinkling of an eye, by this time tomorrow, I will not.
Be here.
You will not be here. When I had COVID, I had the ability to spend a little time thinking about my mortality because when you get a positive testing and the test comes back and says that you have COVID, you scratch your chin and you have to wonder, am I going to make it?
And all of us who've been through that, we know that experience. You wonder if this is something that's killed so many people, will I be part of that number? And the reality is, is that whether COVID takes somebody's life or if it's cancer in 20 years or they just pass away in their sleep, the present form of this world is passing.
Away.
We are all passing away. And that's the reason why we need to pay close attention to this task that is set before us of going and proclaiming repentance and the forgiveness of sins because not only are we promised by Christ that our sins are forgiven, but we are promised by his grace and his mercy and his love for us that he is gifting us a new world, a new creation, a world where there is no sin, where there is no death, where there is no COVID, where there are no flus, where there are no stillborn children, where there are no failed crops or pandemics.
That is what is promised to us in Christ. This world is passing away, but the world that Christ is making, that he will create on the last day of this creation and the first day of the next, it will not pass away.
So that being the case, as we now are called to join the fishers of men of the past in proclaiming Christ on any fishing journey, it's a good idea to pack light, to not bring too much luggage, to not set down deep roots.
And that's really what Paul's getting at here. And so Paul says, this is what I mean, brothers. The appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they have none.
Now Christ is not telling Christians to neglect their wives. The idea here is to not put them on a pedestal and make them the focus of all of their earthly attention. Those who mourn as though they were not mourning.
Those who rejoice as where they were not rejoicing. There's no time for those things. Those who buy as though they had no goods and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it at all.
The present form of this world is indeed passing away. So brothers and sisters, hear again then the words of Christ. The time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand. This present world is passing away and Christ desires you to be forgiven and reconciled to God.
So again, repent, believe, keep on believing the good news that in Christ you have been forgiven because of what he has done, even for a sinner like you or like me. And note then, in the right time, the world that is coming will finally appear and this is our hope.
In the name of Jesus, Amen.
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